In the summer of 2014, Bay Area high school students Luyi Zhang, Emily Li and Lucas Xin saw an opportunity to alleviate poverty while visiting the rural village of Dagouyan in China’s Ningxia region. The area’s cows, it turned out, were in demand in Chinese coastal cities because of Ningxia’s cleaner atmosphere. “However, most farmers in the village were unable to scrape up the tens of thousands in capital that are required to grow them,” said Jason Huang, a Harker junior. “As a result, the students raised several hundred thousand yuan and formed a cow collective.”
The students later formed Nanoseed, which Huang now leads as president, a nonprofit organization whose current main objective is to provide greater economic mobility for Dagouyan’s poor. “While it boasts several thousand in population, there only exists one factory that employs roughly two dozen workers depending upon the number of orders at the time, 27 workers max, while the remaining population survive by seeking temporary employment at larger cities or depending upon farming,” Huang said.
To date, most of Nanoseed’s work has gone into developing and supporting a “cow cooperative” that was started with the cooperation of several families in Dagouyan. Nanoseed raised funds for the operation and negotiated arrangements with a local butcher and a transportation agency.
Nanoseed employs the services of branches at other Bay Area schools for fundraising efforts, while the leadership resides at Harker. Funds raised by these branches are being funneled into a program that offers student loans to children in financially unstable situations. Funding also comes from donations and interest charged on loans they have made. “Loans are charged at a 6.6 percent interest rate. The rate is quite low when compared to the end fee of bank loans, which are usually not offered to the people we serve but often run over 20 to 30 percent in interest for others after accounting for corruption payments and other expenses,” Huang said.
Over the summer, Nanoseed helped found two online businesses in Dagouyan, a handmade shoe seller and a store for organic produce. Both businesses were started using the Chinese social media app WeChat, which includes platforms for instant messaging, networking and commerce.
“The shoe store specifically hires women from needy families to make their handcrafted products, while the organic produce store depends upon the only factory in the town,” Huang explained. “Specifically, this factory buys their ingredients at above market rates from farmers in the town, hires almost half of its production line workforce from needy families, and also donates supplies to the town school and organic fertilizer to farmers for their produce.”
Nanoseed leaders visit Ningxia periodically to work in person with the people involved in the businesses they help set up. Their future plans include improving the efficiency of the work done during these trips. “Current trips consist of a lot of impromptu actions and decisions by student leaders, with simple plans created in just a few days,” Huang said. “We want to create a comprehensive list of necessary actions for groups going to China to ensure steady progress, and also finalize business ideas and research before implementation in Ningxia.” During the school year, they plan to help expand the online businesses through marketing campaigns.
Huang hopes that Nanoseed’s example can spur others into action to help their communities: “Just like how small seeds grow into large trees, we hope our actions can encourage others to serve their community.”
Over the summer, senior Liana Wang and sophomore Mohan Awasthi visited Okayama, Japan (a sister city of San Jose) as Silicon Valley Youth Ambassadors. They and other ambassadors headed to Gakugeikan High School and Kyokuto Junior High to meet with teachers and students and teach English. Wang, a prolific dancer and the designated leader of the ambassadors, gave a special dance performance to the students, while Awasthi gave a speech about what schools are like in the United States. “Overall, the public schools themselves are extremely well run and maintained, and there are many extra-curricular activities for any type of student,” he said.
On a visit to Okayama’s city hall, the group met with the Okayama mayor Maso Omori and received a tour of the building. As the leader of the ambassadors, Wang gave a speech to the mayor on behalf of the City of San Jose. “Also, similar to the school speech, we spoke to the mayor about how we came to keep a good relationship between San Jose and Okayama,” Awasthi noted. “Overall, it was an extremely fun and rare experience.”
During a homestay with the family of a local high school student, Awasthi got a firsthand look into the everyday lives of Okayama citizens. “I got to try more authentic Japanese food, play sports, visit their school, and see many landmarks in Okayama: Kojima Jean street, the Stone Windmills, Okayama Castle, and the Makido stone cave,” he said. Forging bonds with his host family, he added, was one of the most memorable parts of his trip. Wang also visited Okayama Castle with her homestay, as well as the Bikan Chiku area in Okayama’s historic Kurashiki district.
Other highlights of the trip included visiting various famous locales around Tokyo, and taking a trip to Onagawa, a city that experienced massive destruction during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, where they planted trees, and Wang gave a message of support to the disaster victims.
On Sept. 5 middle school students participated in what division head Cindy Ellis called an “empathy developing experience” inspired by recent Hurricane Harvey-related events in Texas. Students were each given a card representing a group of people affected by the disaster. Students given red cards played the role of evacuees, while those with blue cards represented those who stayed in their homes and could not leave due to flooding. Students with green cards represented people who were not in immediate danger but were concerned for their loved ones and wanted to help.
Facilitators led discussions with each group based on detailed scenarios that contained questions for the students. Red card holders posing as evacuees, for instance, imagined that their family had been forced to move temporarily to a much smaller living space than what they had grown accustomed to. As their scenario played out, they were asked questions about what they would leave behind, knowing that belongings left at home could be destroyed, and what a 12-hour drive to Austin might be like in a packed vehicle with bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Later in the week, middle school advisories discussed what they had learned during the exercise. These discussions will be used to formulate ideas on how to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey. “We are trying to make this as student-driven as we can with this age group,” Ellis said.
This article originally appeared in the winter 2016 Harker Magazine
Harker students sent cards to more than 100 service members this year via Operation Gratitude, and many more in uniform enjoyed treats courtesy of Halloween candy donations.
Grade 3 students have been sending cards to those serving in the military for years, and this year the effort included grade 6 students. According to its website, Operation Gratitude sends 200,000-plus care packages to veterans, first responders, recruits, wounded heroes, care givers and overseas U.S. service members every year.
Elise Robichaud, grade 3 English teacher, pioneered the outreach effort to honor those in the military. Each year, she gathers the names of relatives of Harker students, faculty and staff who are serving and arranges for third graders to make cards for them.
One Saturday afternoon in September, in a parent-driven effort, sixth graders gathered at school to make cards for Operation Gratitude. About two dozen students produced about 40 cards. That was just the opening volley in thisyear’s efforts to fill packages and bring smiles to the faces of those deployed overseas.
Then in early October, Robichaud started her third grade classes working on cards for military personnel. This year, they sent cards to 70 Harker relations, as well as a batch of cards to Operation Gratitude for that organization to distribute.
Harker students also contributed Halloween candy to Operation: Care and Comfort, a Bay Area organization that sends goodies to adopted units overseas. “This year I collaborated with my former room parent Robin Feinman-Marino,” Robichaud said. “I had her daughter, Sofie (grade 4), in my homeroom last year, and her cousin is currently serving. They were asking for extra Halloween candy, so we happily stepped up. The children in third grade, and some from grades 4 and 5, filled up three giant tubs with Halloween candy.”
Veterans Visits
Each year Robichaud recruits speakers to come talk to the students about how much it means to get cards and other items from students. “Last year we had former Harker teacher and retired colonel Ray Fowler visit (he was a submarine-hunting pilot during the Cold War) and Col. Patrick Shea (a doctor in the U.S. Air Force), brother of chef Matt Shea, visit,” said Robichaud. “This year I organized another visit from the colonel. He came on Nov. 8, right before Veterans Day, to discuss the importance of veterans and to thank the children for their cards.”
Robichaud noted that the recent contentious election left students with questions about basic freedoms and the outreach helped drive home some basic democratic ideals. The project “helped to explain to the children that we live in this great country where everyone can have different opinions and where people vote on their leaders,” Robichaud said. “However, we would not have that freedom unless we had these amazing people who were willing to serve in our military and defend our country. I told them that not everyone in the world can enjoy these freedoms, but we can because of our amazing military and their sacrifices.”
Robichaud said the response to the student efforts has been overwhelming. “This year,” she noted, “we had a special video message sent from Commander Mike Kent, uncle to one of my students.” And San Francisco 49er tight end Garrett Celek, a 49ers service award winner, signed a football and sent a personalized video message for the students to keep up the good work.
“I have incredible stories from parents who told me that this was the first time they have connected with a [serving] relative,” added Robichaud. “A co-worker told me that the children’s cards brought her Marine husband and his tough buddies to tears.”
Grade 1 students conducted their annual drive for the Humane Society of Silicon Valley in mid-March, raising $556 in addition to collecting about 50 bags of supplies, toys, food, treats and other goods from the lower school community. The students made many of the items they donated. For example, Grace Wallace’s class made dog toys and Cindy Proctor’s students made cat blankets. Proctor reported that the folks at HSSV were “thrilled and very appreciative” of the donations.
The annual Jump Rope for Heart event took place at the lower school campus in early March, as students jumped rope and participated in other activities to raise money for the American Heart Association.
Students collected donations in the weeks leading up to the event, during which they jumped rope in the gym and shot hoops at the basketball court. These and other activities are meant to commemorate those suffering from heart problems, as well as bring awareness to healthy lifestyle habits.
This year’s drive raised more than $13,000 for the American Heart Association, surpassing last year’s amount by more than $3,000. Since 2000, the effort has raised nearly $180,000.
The Harker Red Cross club held its annual blood drive at the Nichols Hall atrium earlier this month, collecting 21 donations. The drive was held at Nichols Hall, rather than its usual location at the upper school gym, due to the ongoing construction on campus. See Harker Aquila’s coverage of the event for more details.
Harker Preschool students and their parents went all out to assist San Jose residents who were affected by the recent flooding. Preschool families donated about 80 bags and boxes of clothing, household goods, toys and canned food, as well as a television and $100 in gift cards. It took a village just to transport all the items!
The preschool’s effort was in conjunction with San Jose Councilman Raul Peralez’s office and Selma Olinder Elementary School, which partially flooded. Some parents contacted the school directly to donate larger items, said Jessica Macias, extended care coordinator at the preschool, who organized the effort at Harker.
On Jan. 31, the grade 6 advisories spent the afternoon rotating among three different activities, while the grades 7 and 8 students watched the Upper School Dance Show.
Sixth graders were split into three groups. Students spent time with English teacher Rebecca Williams doing an activity called “My Multicultural Self” in which they looked at the different things in their lives that make up their individual cultures. Students then discussed the similarities and differences among the groups. With P.E. teacher CJ Cali, the advisories had fun running relays and doing team-building activities in the gym. Finally, with math teacher Margaret Huntley , the students made Valentine’s Day cards, which will be distributed to the elderly through Meals on Wheels. In all, the students made 275 cards with origami hearts and special notes for the recipients.
The kids had a great time and feedback from the advisors was positive.
In late January, upper school soccer teams took to Davis Field for this year’s Kicks Against Cancer event to benefit Camp Okizu, which organizes camp outings for children with cancer. The girls varsity, boys varsity and boys JV teams raised money in the week leading up to the event by selling T-shirts and wristbands. This year, the event’s organizers also sold special tie-dyed T-shirts, which proved to be great sellers.
“We only ordered 75 shirts, because we weren’t sure if they were going to be popular,” said senior Maile Chung, who helped organize the event. “Lucky for us, we sold out on the first day of Kicks week.”
Chung first got involved with Kicks Against Cancer as a freshman. “When the upperclassmen started telling me to wear purple for Kicks and sign up for selling, I was very excited to become more involved with this great fundraiser,” she said. “I wanted to help out as much as I could, not only for raising money for Camp Okizu, but also because I wanted to enhance my leadership skills.”
Although the amount raised had not been tallied at press time, Chung estimated that it was between $1,000 and $1,500.
“I’m really happy that I was able to take charge of this fundraiser and be a part of something that benefits others,” Chung said. “If I hadn’t put myself out there and tried to be a leader, I wouldn’t have had the amazing experience of being a part of Kicks, which I definitely would have regretted.”